Syracuse center Baye Moussa Keita returned to the Syracuse lineup with 12:55 remaining in the first half against Boston College, earning applause and baloons from the Carrier Dome crowd. Most importantly be provided the Orange some much-needed depth.

Keita missed the past two Orange buzzer-beating victories with a sprained right knee, and the team was pushed to the brink by Pittsburgh, North Carolina State and its lack of a bench.

Other than Tyler Roberson's two-minute stint against North Carolina State, the Orange played two tight games using only a six-man rotation. Keita's absence also forced center Rakeem Christmas to be particularly attentive to avoiding fouls in the center of the Syracuse zone.

"We survived these three games without Keita," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said earlier this week. "It's probably been a big benefit for us because (Rakeem) Christmas realizes that he can play longer and in playing longer he's realizing he can play better. So I think it's been a big blessing in disguise."

Keita left SU's last comfortable game, a 57-44 win over Clemson with 7:02 left in the first half.

Boeheim disputed the notion that a six-man rotation would have doomed the Orange.

"I think you can play six guys in basketball," Boeheim said. "I know you can play seven; we won a national championship playing seven."